CBP to suspend border railway crossings at two Texas border bridges due to migrant surge

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is temporarily suspending freight train railway crossings at two key bridges on Texas' U.S.-Mexico border in order to shift staffing due to a surging numbers of migrants.

The border agency will temporarily suspend operations at two international railway crossings in El Paso and Eagle Pass starting at 8 a.m. (local time) on Monday, Dec. 18.

CBP said that staff is being redirected to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody and processing while prioritizing border security in what CBP described as an "evolving situation."

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The city of El Paso's online migrant crisis information dashboard on Sunday reported more than 1,500 daily migrant encounters by CBP in the El Paso area along with 2,695 migrants in custody and 363 daily migrant releases. By comparison, daily migrant encounters were down to about 450 at the end of May, following the wave before the end of the Title 42 pandemic restrictions.

The potential binational economic impact of the border railway closures was not immediately clear.

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"CBP is continuing to surge all available resources to safely process migrants in response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals," the agency said.

"After observing a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains, CBP is taking additional actions to surge personnel and address this concerning development, including in partnership with Mexican authorities."

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Migrants without authorization to travel through Mexico climb aboard and ride atop freight trains in extremely risky travel to cities on the U.S. border, such as Juárez.

Four months ago, hundreds of migrants attempt to breach the northbound railroad bridge over the Rio Grande between Downtown El Paso and Juárez after a false rumor that the U.S. would "open the border" on Aug. 8. 

The suspension of international railway traffic is among several changes CBP has made in recent weeks in efforts to "respond, process and enforce consequences" of unauthorized crossings along the border with Mexico, the agency said.

In Eagle Pass, Texas, vehicle traffic remains suspended at Eagle Pass International Bridge 1. In San Diego, San Ysidro’s Pedestrian West operations remain suspended. In Lukeville, Arizona, the Lukeville Port of Entry remains closed, CBP said.

Migrants wait along border fence in El Paso's Lower Valley

The Border Patrol reports that groups of asylum-seeking migrants are again steadily arriving at the border fence to surrender to agents at Border Safety Initiative Marker (BSI) 36 next to the César Chávez Border Highway in the Riverside area of El Paso's Lower Valley.

Migrants cross the Rio Grande, cut the concertina wire or place clothing or pieces of cardboard over the wire to walk up to the fence, which stands on U.S. soil along the riverbank.

The number of migrants waiting along the border fence has grown to about 250 people, mostly from Venezuela, as of Friday, the Border Patrol said.

The Border Patrol has an access gate at BSI 36, which the migrants falsely believe via misinformation by smugglers and on social media that it is a "gate" open to unauthorized migration. It is not an official entry point.

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The Border Patrol emphasized that crossing the border between the ports of entry is illegal. Persons who attempt to enter the U.S. without authorization — and unable to establish a legal basis to remain in the country — will be deported and face a minimum five-year ban on reentry, the Border Patrol said in a statement.

"El Paso Sector continues to remain vigilant and enforcing consequences under U.S. immigration law," El Paso Border Patrol Chief Anthony “Scott” Good said in a statement. "No one should believe the lies of transnational criminal organizations. These criminal organizations prey on vulnerable individuals for financial gain. The truth is that individuals and families put their lives in peril by crossing the border illegally."